Sunday, July 27, 2014

GUEST POST: Arenado and Matzek lead the way for Colorado Rockies

Nolan Arenado told reporters before yesterday’s game he was
embarrassed by his lack of hustle in the Rockies’ win over the Pirates Friday.

Saturday, he jogged out of the batter’s
box again. Everything worked out ok this time, because he kept jogging all the
way home.

Arenado’s solo home run in the bottom of the seventh helped
break the game wide open for the Rockies, who wiped Coors Field with Jeff Locke
and the Pirates en route to their second straight 8-1 win.

In the series opener, manager Walt Weiss laid down the law
with his young third baseman. It was clear that Weiss was making an example out
of Arenado that served as a warning to the rest of the Rockies that
lackadaisical play will not be tolerated no matter what the team’s record is.

But credit Weiss for not turning Arenado’s brain fart into a
bigger deal than it really was. He slotted Arenado into the third spot in the
lineup, and was rewarded with a three-hit, 2 RBI performance. Weiss was getting
criticized a lot early in the season for not sticking up for his players on the
field, and for not seeming more angry about the death-spiral his team was
locked in. His calm, laid-back demeanor paid off this time around.

Arenado had plenty of help on offense. Charlie Blackmon, who
went just 1-5, did his damage with his speed. His lone hit was a bunt single in
the first, and he stole third base in the third to set up Josh Rutledge’s RBI
single and the Rockies first run. It was Blackmon’s 19th stolen base of the
season, and it’s important to keep in mind that he can still affect games in
other ways even if he’s no longer hitting at an all-star clip.

As for Rutledge, he must love Pirates pitching – he has five
hits and seven RBI’s in the first two games of the series.

The Rockies would tack on a second run in the fourth thanks
to a Drew Stubbs home run – unfortunately, the center fielder twisted his ankle
on the swing and had to leave the game. Hopefully the injury isn’t serious.
Beyond never wanting to see someone get hurt, trade rumors have been floating
around Stubbs for a while now, and an injury might kill a potential buyer’s
interest, if his massive home/road splits (.356 with nine home runs at Coors,
.229 with two home runs on the road) haven’t already.

On the bump, Tyler Matzek was a fielder’s dream, allowing
just three hits and no runs over seven innings while striking out three. The
concerns around his command have, so far, been overblown. He pitched to contact
all game, and got some help from Nolan Arenado on a fantastic diving stab in
the bottom of the fourth with two men on.

The only hiccup Matzek encountered was in the seventh, when
he walked a batter and gave up a hard single Gregory Polanco. There again,
Matzek allowed his defense to do his work for him when he induced a 4-6-3 double
play off the bat of Pirates third baseman Brent Morel to end the inning.

From there, the Rockies offense poured it on. Corey
Dickerson added a solo shot in the seventh, and Rutledge scored DJ LeMahieu and
Ben Paulsen with a single in the eighth.

It was a balanced attack, as everyone in the lineup but Brandon
Barnes and Wilin Rosario got a hit, and both walked. It’s interesting the team
had Rosario at first base – after the game Weiss said it was nice to have
position flexibility against left-handed pitching, but the team could be trying
to make Rosario more appealing to other teams before the trade deadline expires.
If so, it probably won’t work, as the bar for offense at first base is so much
higher than at catcher. Rosario’s .238 batting average isn’t going to look any
more appealing at the corner.

Other than a solo home run to Ike Davis in the bottom of the
ninth, it was the second straight impressive performance against Pittsburgh by
Colorado. Given the team’s road struggles, playing well at home take son an
even greater performance, and the Rockies head into Sunday with a chance at a
sweep.

Based on the pitching matchup, it won’t be an easy task.
Franklin Morales gets the ball Sunday for Colorado against Edinson Volquez of
the Pirates.

Zach Marburger is a
transplant from Maryland who covers the Rockies and Nuggets as a staff writer
at milehighsports.com. He also covers high school sports at CHSAAnow.com.

2 comments:

Re - I don't think that's much of a concern. He's the same guy he's always been, the same guy the Roxs should have known they were getting. Stubbs is a career .224 hitter on the road and .229 this season.

He's always been a K-master that pops up, weakly flairs or dribbles out the rest of the time. This year he's been swinging for a new contract, aided by the reduced movement of pitches, flairs that turn into bloops and sub-warning track power reaching the stands at Coors Field. One major downside is he has 42Ks in 113PAs on the road this year - high even for him.

No, I don't think any team will have reservations about his splits as they're an expected Coors fluke because of the type of hitter he is. At any other park, his career numbers should apply. What Coors also confirmed is he's a mediocre outfielder meant for the corners or a smaller park. Stubbs takes terrible angles, never plays the wall or anywhere near it and his speed on the basepaths doesn't translate to the field.

Though trade talks have swirled, I doubt it'll happen since the Roxs FO thinks highly of him (I can't explain/understand why) and will undoubtedly ask too much for essentially an expensive bench player.

About Me

Born and raised in Colorado, I have followed the Rockies since their inception. I am a freelance writer who covers the Colorado Rockies for the Colorado Springs Gazette, doing their Rox/Sox blog. I have also covered the team for INDenverTimes.com, a spin off of the former Rocky Mountain News. Some of the best days of my life have involved the Rockies.